Paper Maps

Maps available for viewing and/or purchase

There are several maps available for viewing and purchase at the
GIS & Mapping Services office. Complete details of the maps
available from our Front Counter are listed here. A visit to our Front
Counter will allow you access to these maps and many more products
and services. Please note that several of our maps and geographic
datasets are available electronically through applications found
in the Fairfax
Geoportal. Consult the price list for the cost of the maps outlined below.

Map Books

Official County of Fairfax map books have been published on an annual
basis since 1961. Recent books have the County's jurisdiction divided
into 444 map grids, with one grid per page. Several types of map
books have been published with various themes which are explained below.
Please note that Digital Map
Viewer application provides the most recent updates to the map book
pages in addition to historic versions (as far back as 1961).

In an effort to map the county for the Department of
Tax Administration, a grid was established that divides the
county into 444 numbered sections. These sections are commonly called
base maps, property maps or tax maps. Every property in the county has a
unique property identification number. This several digit property number
begins with the tax map number and is followed by a subdivision or
acreage number, and a lot or parcel number. With the exception of the
County Wall map series, all of our thematic maps are tied to the tax
maps. In other words, the boundaries of the maps are determined by the
tax map grid.

Currently all property information is captured and maintained digitally.
Property maps are updated daily and published in book format yearly. In
addition, all 444 grid sections have been compiled in PDF format. The
Property map set is available for sale as well (see price list for details).
Our reference collection of property books dates back to 1961. Current
and historic property maps can be viewed at the GIS and Mapping offices,
though electronic versions of the map book pages are available online
using the Digital Map
Viewer application.

Source materials for property maps include site plans, deed
descriptions, subdivision plats, and acreage plats. A plat is a detailed
drawing taken from the survey of a property boundary. A few of the many
features included on a plat are: Bearings and Distances of lot lines,
Utility Easements, Area, and Curve Data. The collection is comprised of
paper plats which vary in size, scale, number of pages, and condition.
Most subdivison plats may be viewed at the
Fairfax County Land Development Services.

All land in Fairfax County is zoned into residential, commercial or
industrial districts. The permitted density in each zoning district and
the uses allowed in each district are described in detail in the County Zoning
Ordinance. The location and boundaries of the zoning districts
established by this Ordinance are illustrated on official zoning maps.
These maps illustrate all of the property map information as well as the
zoning districts.

Currently all zoning map information is maintained digitally. Zoning
maps are updated daily and published in book format yearly. The Zoning
Map book, as well as, individual grid section maps at a scale of 1" =
500' are available for sale. . All 444 grid sections are available as a
map set in PDF (see
price list for details). Please note that Digital Map
Viewer application provides the most recent updates to the map book
pages in addition to historic versions (as far back as 1985).

A contour map illustrates ground surface elevation with lines that join
points of equal elevation. These maps illustrate all of the property map
information as well as contour lines. The contour interval is 2 feet over
the entire county. The date of the aerial photography used to determine
the ground elevation is 2009. It should also be noted that the 2009
source contour maps have their elevations stored in the North American
Vertical Datum 1988. The contour map series is not published in book
format, however, all 444 grid sections are available for
sale in PDF format (see price list for details).
Please note that the Digital Map
Viewer application provides the most recent updates to the map book
pages as new contour data are created, with the latest being from
2009. The Digital Map Viewer may also be utilized to view and
download the 2003 Contour maps; these maps include property features
from 2003 and elevation contours from 1997. In addition, historic contour
maps at a scale of 1” = 500’ derived from aerial photography dated 1972
and 1984 may be viewed and photocopied at our Front Counter.
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A topographic map illustrates ground surface elevation, as well as,
natural and human-made features on the ground surface. The features on
this map series includes building outlines, roadbeds, parking lots,
bridges, water features, as well as other features. These maps also
include a surface depiction with colored elevation changes and a
hillshade to depict shadows in hillsides. This information was
derived from 2009 aerial photography. The contour interval is 2 feet. It
should also be noted that the 2009 source contour maps have their
elevations stored in the North American Vertical Datum 1988. These
topographic maps do not show property map information. The topographic
map series is not published in book format, however, all 444 grid
sections are available for sale in PDF format. (see price list for details).
Please note that the Digital Map
Viewer application provides the most recent updates to the map book
pages as new contour data are created, with the latest being from
2009. The Digital Map Viewer may also be utilized to view and
download the 2003 Topographic maps; these maps, created in
2002, include planimetric data and elevation contours from 1997
aerial imagery.

These maps illustrate soil types, soils problem areas, and soil symbols
that describe ground surface characteristics. There are two soils maps
available: the 2011 official soils map and the 1990 soils map. They
both show property information, but vary in their depiction of soil
types. The 1990 soils maps were published by the County’s soil
office and, at the time, about 40,000 acres of unmapped land remained.
The soil’s office was closed in 1996, and since there were still
significant areas of the County unmapped, the County requested the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to complete the maps. A
combined effort between Fairfax County, NRCS, and the Northern Virginia
Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) led to the publishing of
the official 2011 soils maps. Any construction, building or site
plans submitted to the county for permitting that require soil
identification must now use the 2011 soils map. For general information
purposes, either map may be used.

In 1988 the Virginia General Assembly adopted the
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. As a result, local governments
were required to incorporate general water quality protection measures
into their comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, and subdivision
ordinances and to establish programs, in accordance with criteria
established by the Commonwealth, that define and protect certain lands
which are called Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas.

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area maps illustrate all of the property
map information as well as Resource Management Areas (RMA) and Resource
Protection Areas (RPA). A RMA is that component of the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Area comprised of lands that, if improperly used or
developed, have a potential for causing significant water quality
degradation or for diminishing the functional value of the RPA. [See
Fairfax County Code, Ch. 118, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance.] A
RPA is that component of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area comprised
of lands at or near the shoreline or water's edge that have an intrinsic
water quality value due to the ecological and biological processes they
perform or are sensitive to impacts which may result in significant
degradation of the quality of state waters. In their natural condition,
these lands provide for the removal, reduction or assimilation of
sediments from runoff entering the Bay and its tributaries, and minimize
the adverse effects of human activities on state waters and aquatic
resources. New development is generally discouraged in an RPA. [See
Fairfax County Code, Ch. 118, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance.]

You can read the full Chesapeake
Bay Preservation Ordinance for more infomation. Chesapeake
Bay preservation areas maps display the boundaries of the RPAs adopted by
the Board in 1993 and the additional RPAs adopted by the Board in 2003.
All of the maps may be viewed and downloaded online through the Digital Map
Viewer application.

During the 1960's and 1970's the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) performed a flood plain study for most
of the area of Fairfax County. A cooperative agreement between USGS and
Fairfax County established a project to study the effects of basin
development on floods and to delineate flood boundaries on specially
prepared maps of stream valleys. The results of this study include a
series of USGS Open-File Reports.

The Open-File Reports include water-surface profile data, flood
profiles, and topographic maps with flood boundary delineation. As stated
on each map, the map shows the extent of inundation for floods of 25-,
50-, and 100-year recurrence intervals. As applied to flood events, a
recurrence interval is the average interval of time within which a given
flood will be equaled or exceeded once. No periodicity is implied. In
addition to the flood-delineation lines, each map also includes
topography with a 2 foot contour interval for the area around the stream.

The Open-file Reports and the Maps can be viewed at the Front Counter.
Photocopies of the 1"=100' scale mylar film overlays can be
purchased. See price
list for details. Photocopies of associated water-surface profile
data tables from the open-file reports are included free by request with
the purchase of blue line prints of the photocopiess. Flood plain studies
of Dogue Creek basin, Little Hunting Creek basin, the upper tributaries
of Cameron Run basin, and Tripps Run and Holmes Run above Lake Barcroft
were performed by Massey Engineers Consultants. The results of this study
are a series of Drainage Reports. Drainage Reports include a flood
profile for a 100-year recurrence interval discharge and a topographic
map of the stream valley with a 2 foot contour interval and the 100-year
flood boundary delineation line. The map scale is 1 inch = 100 feet.
Drainage Reports can be viewed at the GIS Front Counter. Photocopies of
the mylar sepia report can be purchased. See price list for
details.
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Fairfax County Wall Maps Series

A series of large printed countywide wall maps is available for purchase
at the Front Counter. These maps include products created by GIS
& Mapping Services in addition to those compiled by other County
agencies. See price list for
details. Many of the wall maps are available to view
and download for free in the Wall Map
section of the online Map Gallery.